Sabine River Compact Commission (Tex.)

The Sabine River Compact Commission (SRCC) is a partner in administering the water rights of the Sabine River, which rises in northeast Texas and flows southeast to form the portion of the Texas-Louisiana border near Logansport, Louisiana southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The two Sabine River Compact Commissioners for Texas, together with two commissioners for Louisiana and a commissioner designated by the President of the United States, make up the Sabine River Compact Administration, which is responsible for administering the provisions of the compact, which itself exists to ensure that both states receive an equitable share of quality water from the Sabine River and its tributaries. The compact was ratified by the 53rd Texas Legislature after being signed by Texas, Louisiana, and the United States on January 26, 1953. Thus, the compact represents both state and federal law. The SRCC is authorized by Chapter 44 of the Texas Water Code. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality handles the administrative duties related to the compact and is responsible for furnishing the commissioners with available data, information, and technical assistance. The Office of the Attorney General provides the SRCC with legal assistance.

The commissioners oversee water quantity and water quality measurements within the Sabine River Basin to ensure compact compliance and approval of withdrawals of water. The waters of the Sabine River are used to supply water for municipal, industrial, irrigation, recreation, mining, hydroelectric, and domestic livestock purposes. The largest reservoir in the basin is Toledo Bend Reservoir, located on the Texas-Louisiana border.

In the 1990s, the Sabine River Compact Administration agreed to serve as the coordinating entity to bring together appropriate parties from Texas and Louisiana to address environmental issues relating to the Trans-Texas Water Program, a comprehensive integrated water resources planning process designed to identify the most cost-effective and environmentally acceptable methods for meeting future water needs in a large portion of southeast Texas encompassing approximately one-third of the state's population.

(Sources include: Guide to Texas State Agencies, 9th ed. (1996); information on the SRCC from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality website at http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/permitting/water_supply/water_rights/sabine.html ; and information on the Trans-Texas Water Program from the Sabine River Authority of Texas website at http://www.sra.dst.tx.us/srwmp/ttwp/default.asp, both accessed September 20, 2006.)

From the guide to the Sabine River Compact Commission records, 1953, 1962-1964, 1972, 1982, (Texas State Archives)